{"id":10985,"date":"2026-04-16T03:08:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T03:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/himalhub.com\/?p=10985"},"modified":"2026-04-16T03:08:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T03:08:31","slug":"balen-shah-named-among-times-100-most-influential-people-of-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/himalhub.com\/?p=10985","title":{"rendered":"Balen Shah Named Among Time\u2019s 100 Most Influential People of 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"flex flex-col text-sm\">\n<section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-WEB:5d6baa96-85e9-4705-a150-e2217fc88eae-8\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-18\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\" data-turn=\"assistant\">\n<div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\">\n<div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\">\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"0\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"f2699f03-1645-404e-b397-c05ae1d9673c\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-3\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full wrap-break-word light markdown-new-styling\">\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"71\" data-end=\"293\"><strong>Himal Hub \/<\/strong> Globally renowned magazine <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Time<\/span><\/span> has released its list of the 100 most influential people for 2026, which includes Nepal\u2019s newly elected Prime Minister <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Balen Shah<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"295\" data-end=\"668\">At just 35 years old, Shah has become the youngest prime minister in Nepal\u2019s history. Time has portrayed him as a \u201csymbol of youth rebellion and change.\u201d His landslide victory in the general elections held earlier this year has been widely seen as the result of powerful Gen Z-led protests against the old political establishment and corruption that took place last autumn.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"670\" data-end=\"848\">Time writes that Shah, once a hip-hop artist known for lyrics like \u201cmoney grows on trees for those who sell their integrity,\u201d is now leading a nation of nearly 30 million people.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"850\" data-end=\"1059\">A graduate in civil engineering, Shah previously served as mayor of Kathmandu, where he introduced notable reforms in waste management, education, and healthcare by cutting through bureaucratic inefficiencies.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1061\" data-end=\"1293\">The report describes Shah\u2019s rise not only as a turning point for Nepal but also as a challenge to dynastic politics across South Asia, noting that it has sent shockwaves through established political forces in neighboring countries.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1295\" data-end=\"1488\">Influenced by American rappers <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Tupac Shakur<\/span><\/span> and <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">50 Cent<\/span><\/span>, Shah once wrote on social media that \u201call politicians, old and new, are thieves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1490\" data-end=\"1721\">Now, both the global community and the people of Nepal are closely watching him. Time notes that many Nepalis hope he can replicate his success from Kathmandu at the national level and ultimately prove his own past statement wrong.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1723\" data-end=\"1945\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Alongside Shah, this year\u2019s list also features prominent global leaders, entrepreneurs, and artists, reflecting Nepal\u2019s evolving political landscape and the growing influence of young leadership on the international stage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"z-0 flex min-h-[46px] justify-start\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pointer-events-none h-px w-px absolute bottom-0\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-edge=\"true\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Himal Hub \/ Globally renowned magazine Time has released its list of the 100 most influential people for 2026, which&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalhub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalhub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalhub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalhub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalhub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10985"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/himalhub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10987,"href":"https:\/\/himalhub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10985\/revisions\/10987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalhub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalhub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalhub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalhub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}